After evaluating Penn State’s heartbreaking 27-24 loss to No. 2 Indiana, interim head coach Terry Smith was reluctant to criticize the defense’s performance.
“I thought our defense started to take form and started to look like our old defense,” Smith said Monday. “Guys were being physical up front. I thought we got some pressure on the quarterback (Fernando Mendoza) and got a couple sacks. We hit the kid all game. We played really good up until that point (the final two minutes).”
The Nittany Lions (0-6 Big Ten, 3-6) will try to continue that momentum on defense against Michigan State (0-6, 3-6) Saturday at 3:30 p.m. (TV-CBS) at Spartan Stadium. They held Indiana, the nation’s leader in scoring, to nearly 20 points and almost 179 yards below its season averages. Penn State sacked Mendoza a season-high three times and pressured him many other times.
Yet Mendoza managed to direct a game-winning 80-yard drive in the final two minutes that included toe-tapping catches by wide receivers Charlie Bennett on the sideline and Omar Cooper Jr. in the back of the end zone for the game-winning catch with 36 seconds left. Penn State had held the unbeaten Hoosiers to 246 total yards before that series.
“I thought the secondary played extremely well throughout the game,” Smith said. “They were really competitive. We covered really, really well. Even in the two-minute situation, Indiana made the plays. They were tough, 50-50 plays. They were highly contested plays.
“It’s tough for the outcome to be that way. We didn’t make mistakes. They made plays.”
A week earlier, Ohio State shredded the Lions for 480 yards behind quarterback Julian Sayin and wide receivers Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate. Penn State also allowed more than 400 yards against Oregon (424) and UCLA (435), two games that began its current six-game losing streak.
Against Indiana, Dani Dennis-Sutton picked up his first sack since the second game of the season against Florida International, and Zane Durant registered his first since the Northwestern game.
When asked why it took this long for Penn State to start looking like its old defense in its first season under coordinator Jim Knowles, Smith explained: “One, we’re deep into the season and we’re getting a better grasp of the defense. Two, we have simplified some of the play-calling on defense. Three, we’re drawing up more blitz packages to get pressure.
“Our guys are playing a little bit faster and a little bit looser. You saw that on Saturday. They got after it. They were having fun.”
Linebacker Amare Campbell continued his outstanding season with eight tackles, including 1.5 in the backfield, and a quarterback hurry. Next to Campbell, freshman Alex Tatsch saw his most extensive action this season and had two stops and a pass breakup.
“Jim Knowles is in control of the defense,” Smith said. “As we talk through things, about our personnel and about trying to get our young guys involved, we know that the young guys can’t run the whole playbook. So we have to simplify for those guys to have success.
“Alex Tatsch was in the game at the very end. We can’t have the whole playbook in for him because it’s just too much. We have to put our guys in position to succeed. I think Jim is doing a good job with that now.”
Freshman defensive end Yvan Kemajou also saw significant time and had one stop, one tipped pass, and one quarterback hurry.
“Yvan is having an amazing freshman year,” Smith said. “This kid is going to be a major part of Penn State’s future. He continues to play more and more snaps. I love his development and love his work ethic and love his tenacity.”
Michigan State has struggled on offense, ranking 81st in scoring (25.6), 98th in total yards (347.7), and 103rd in rushing yards (125.8).
Embattled Spartans coach Jonathan Smith made a quarterback change in their last game, replacing starter Aidan Chiles with redshirt freshman Alessio Milivojevic. In a 23-20 overtime loss at Minnesota, Milivojevic completed 20-of-28 passes for 311 yards and one touchdown but was sacked seven times.
Jonathan Smith said Monday that he’s not sure which quarterback will start against Penn State or whether he will use both of them. “We will let the quarterback battle play out this week,” he said.
Penn State, meanwhile, hopes to keep playing the way it did last week.
“I think our guys are starting to settle into the defense, learning it and starting to master it,” Terry Smith said. “We’re putting a couple caveats in there and putting a lot of pressure on the quarterback. We want to continue to build on it.”
https://www.mcall.com/2025/11/10/penn-states-terry-smith-hopes-defense-can-carry-momentum-to-michigan-state/
